A Login Manager utility is available in Control Panel. Figure 8.7a shows the initial screen when you click on this icon in Control Panel or type pc-su pc-dmconf at the command line. Note that this utility will prompt you for your password.

Figure 8.7a: Login Manager

Figure 8.7b: Configuring Remote Login

For security reasons, PC-BSD® defaults to a login screen. This means that users are required to input their password before logging into the PC-BSD® system. If you are the only user on the PC-BSD® computer, always use the same window manager, and do not consider it a security risk for the system to automatically boot into that window manager, you can enable auto-login using the "Auto login" tab.

Figure 8.7c: Miscellaneous Options

As seen in the example in Figure 8.7a, the "Enable auto login" box is unchecked by default. If you check the box, the "Auto login user" drop-down menu will be activated. Select the user account to automatically login as. You will be prompted to input that user's password when you click the “Save” button.

This change requires a reboot. Once the system is rebooted, a login screen will no longer appear until this setting is changed again in Login Manager.

The "Remote login" tab, shown in Figure 8.7b, is used to enable a remote user to connect to a desktop session using VNC[1]. Check the "Enable Remote Desktop (VNC)" box to enable this service. You will be prompted for the name and password of the user. Reboot in order to activate the VNC service over port 5900. You will also need to open TCP port 5900 using Firewall-Verwaltung. You can test the connection using the "vnc" option of KRDC (shown in Figure 9.7a) or from another VNC client.

Use extreme caution when enabling this option as it makes your system available to anyone over the network. There is an additional risk when a user logs in over VNC as their password is sent in clear text. If you need someone to access your PC-BSD® system to assist with troubleshooting, consider using Desktop Sharing instead, which allows you to send an invitation to connect. Always disable any type of remote login immediately after finishing your troubleshooting session. If you are instead using this option to login to your desktop from a remote location such as work or school, configure your network's firewall to only allow VNC connections from the specific IP address you will be using to make the connection.

The "Misc" tab, shown in Figure 8.7c, currently contains one option, the "Enable "show password" button". By default, when a user types their password at the login prompt shown in Figure 4.8a, * characters are displayed as the password is typed in order to prevent another user from seeing the password as it is typed. When this box is checked, and the user clicks the lock icon next to the typed password in the login screen, the asterisks will change to reveal the password.